Pneumococcal disease
Pneumococcal disease can be very serious. It may cause permanent hearing loss, brain damage and death. It is a group of infections that commonly affect the elderly and young children, particularly those under 5 years of age.
The pneumococcus bug can cause meningitis (infection of the lining of the brain and/or spinal cord), bacteremia (blood infection), pneumonia (lung infection), as well as acute otitis media (infection of the middle ear).
Risk Factors
Some groups are at particularly high risk:
- Children attending childcare centers or kindergartens
- Children younger than 5 years of age
- Children who have poor immunity (chronically sick children)
- Children who have a history of middle ear infection
Treatment
- Meningitis and bacteraemia can develop very quickly, so it is vital that treatment is provided without delay.
- Antibiotics are used to treat these diseases and are effective in most cases if started in time.
- However, a small number of bacteria are resistant to some antibiotics, which results in longer periods in hospital with greater cost. Pneumococcal disease can be prevented by a series of vaccination for your children.
- Vaccination can help prevent the disease as well as reduce the spread of bacteria to other children. Vaccination may also reduce antibiotic resistance.